A disturbing number of major websites have adopted a double standard in typography. Skin-color terms are capitalized or not, based on what color is in question. I’ve seen sentences where the typographical standard is changed in mid-sentence, even in mid-phrase, capitalizing “Black” and putting “white” in lower case. I haven’t seen a consistent pattern in other color terms, such as “brown” (or is it “Brown”?).

Authors aren’t to blame for this, except when they’re running their own websites. The site sets the typographic standard (or lack of one), and the authors have to live with it or find other outlets.

I can’t figure out what purpose this inconsistency serves. Is it to annoy white people? To make them feel “microaggressed” against? If that’s the aim, it’s a petty one. Maybe it’s to discourage linking to articles? I’ve come across articles with information that I consider important, but seeing the typographical double standard makes them seem biased and less trustworthy. The result is that I wonder whether I should offer them as reliable reporting. It’s like seeing an article with an excessive number of typos.

Capitalizing color terms makes no more sense than capitalizing “Red-Haired” or “Tall” or “Short” or “Freckled.” Color is an incidental physical characteristic, not a nationality or organizational membership. One color shades into another, and what color or “race” someone is considered to be often depends as much on social considerations as physical ones.

But if you have to capitalize the words, at least be consistent.